Black And White Photo Symbolism

Try Long Exposure. Long exposure shots could work really well in monochrome photography, especially where there’s moving water or clouds. During the exposure the highlights of the water, for example, are recorded across a wider place than they would with a short exposure and this should help enhance tonal contrast. The blurring of the movement also adds textural contrast with any solid objects in the frame. If compulsory , use a neutral density filter such as Lee Filters’ Big Stopper or Little Stopper to reduce exposure and extend shutter speed (by 10 and 4 stops respectively). typically , when exposures extend farther than relating to 1/60 sec a tripod is wanted to keep the camera still and avoid blurring. It’s also advisable to use a remote release and mirror lock-up to minimise vibration and produce super-sharp images.

Shoot RAW + JPEG. The unsurpassed monochrome conversions are happen on by editing raw files which have the full colour information, but if you shoot raw and JPEG files simultaneously and set the camera to its monochrome photograph Style/Picture Control/Film Simulation mode you get an indication of how the image will look in black and white. As numerous photographers struggle to visualise a scene in black and white, these monochrome modes are an invaluable tool that will help with composition and scene assessment. many cameras are also capable of producing decent in-camera monochrome images these days and it’s worth experimenting with image parameters (usually contrast, sharpness, filter effects and toning) to find a look that you like. Because compact habit cameras and compact cameras show the scene seen by the sensor with camera settings applied, users of these cameras are able to preview the monochrome image in the electronic viewfinder or on rear screen before taking the shot. DSLR users could also do this if they kick in his camera’s live belief procedure , but the usually slower responses mean that many will find it preferable or check the image on the screen post-capture.

Use Filters. Graduated neutral density (AKA ND grad) and polarizing filters are purely as useful in monochrome photography as they are in colour. In fact, because they manipulate image contrast they are arguably more useful . An ND grad is supportive when you want to retain detail in a bright sky while a polarizing filter should be used to decrease reflections and boost contrast. Alternatively, think of taking two or more shots with unique exposures to create a high dynamic range (HDR) composite. Don’t be afraid to use a ND grad with a standard neural density filter if the sky is brighter than the foreground in a long exposure shot. Coloured filters, which are an essential tool for monochrome film photographers, should also be useful for manipulating contrast in digital images. They work by darkening objects of his opposite colour while lightening objects of her own. An orange filter, for example, will darken the blue of the sky while a green one will lighten foliage.

Look for Contrast, Shape and Texture. The complimentary and opposing colours that bring a colour image to life are all decreased to black and white or shades of grey in a monochrome image and you have to look for tonal contrast to make a shot stand out. In colour photography, for example, your eye would instantly be drawn to a red object on a green background, but in monochrome photography these two areas are likely to have the same brightness, so the image looks flat and dowdy straight from the camera. happily , it’s possible to work adjust the brightness of these two colours separately to introduce some contrast. However, a great starting point is to look for scenes with tonal contrast. There are always exceptions, but as a general rule look for scenes that contain some strong blacks and whites. This can be achieved by the light or by the brightness (or tone) of the objects in the scene as well as the exposure settings that you use. The brightness of the bark of a silver birch tree for example, should inject some contrast (and interest) in to a woodland scene. Setting the exposure for these brighter areas also makes the shadows darker, so the highlights stand out even more. Look for shapes, patterns and textures in a scene and move around to find the best composition.

Take Control. Although coloured filters may still be used to manipulate contrast when shooting digital black and white images, it’s more prominent to save this work until the processing stage. Until a few years ago Photoshop’s Channel Mixer was the favored means of turning colour images monochrome, but now Adobe Camera Raw has more forceful tools (in the HSL/Grayscale tab) that allow you to adjust the brightness of eight individual colours that make up the image. It’s possible to adjust one of these colours to make it anything from white to black with the sliding control. However, it’s important to keep an eye on the whole image when adjusting a particular colour as subtle gradations could become unnatural looking. And adjusting the brightness of a red or pink shirt with the red sliding control, for instance , will have an impact on the model’s skin, especially the lips. The Levels and Curves controls should also be used to manipulate tonal range and contrast, but the HSL/Grayscale controls allow you to create delineation between objects of the same brightness but with diverse colours.

Dodge and Burn. Dodging and burning is a routine that comes from the traditional darkroom and is usually used to burn in or darken highlights and hold back (brighten) shadows. Photoshop’s Dodge and Burn tools allow a level of control that film photographers could only thought of taking a degree of because you should target the highlights, shadows or mid-tones with both. This means that you should use the Burn tool to darken highlights when they are too bright, or the Dodge tool to brighten up them to increase local contrast. It’s a good channel of sharing a sense of better sharpness and enhancing texture. Plus, because you may set the opacity of the tools, you should build up her effect gradually so the impact is crafty and there are no hard edges.

Related Images of Black And White Photo Symbolism

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Today, color photographs have become more pervasive than black-and-white ones, with film stocks and digital cameras capable of capturing color faithful to the way the human eye experiences the world. Yet photographers may still choose to capture black-and-white images, and this may simply represent an exploration into the form of the medium. Removing the color from an image gives greater emphasis to the way the light plays across the scene, to the lines and angles and shadowing that make up the form of most photos. By removing the potential distraction of color, photographers can experiment with and explore the elements of form that are highlighted in black-and-white photographs and but are less emphasized when color is included.

In the early days of the medium, taking a black-and-white photograph was nothing more than a technical decision. The very first photographs were taken using a device known as a camera obscura, which could not capture color on its own. And, even though the first color image was made as early as 1861, the appearance of this color did not have the same quality as color had in reality, and many photographers chose to continue the process of photographing in black and white. It was not until the mid-1900s that color photography caught up in convenience and realism to black-and-white photography. Consequently, many of the most influential early photographs were taken in black and white, not to symbolize anything in particular, but simply because the tools made this aesthetic most viable to photographers of the time.

Black white photograph is mother of all photographs and will stay at least at me still the most popular, because that to express with her enough more than with color. Gives some us appear around enough more concretely, events are more realist. In any case “queen of photograph”. ages ago (permalink)

It’s the most beautiful way to display any subject matter on earth. I take almost every photo I take and convert to b&w. ages ago (permalink)

Black and White Landscapes: Weekly Photogrpahy Challenge 6 years ago

Which do you prefer – Black and White or Color?What do you like about your preference? Have you experimented much with Black and White digital photography? Interested to hear your thoughts in comments below.

One of the questions I’m being asked about more and more lately is about Black and White Digital Photography.

UPDATE: Learn more about Black and White Photography with our new Essential Guide to Black and White Photography.

No Distractions“I find that colors can be terribly distracting in some images and can take the focus away from your subject. I do portrait work and find that taking the color out of an image lets the subject speak for themselves. Its raw, it’s stripped back, it’s honest and it allows you to show the true person.” – Shane

Versatility“I love that it’s a format that suits almost any type of photography. Portraits, landscapes, urban landscapes, architecture. Not only that, it’s a medium that adapts really well to all lighting situations. Whereas color photography often works best on sunny days or in brightly lit studios – low light just makes a black and white image moody.’ – Sol

Black and white really creates mood, i love using it for shots which i try to express thoughts or emotional… to me black and white autumatically represents a thought or feeling. ages ago (permalink)

As I said yesterday in the post announcing our Black and White Assignment it seems as though Black and White images are making something of a comeback of late as digital camera owners rediscover the beauty of mono images.

I also take a lot of b/w shots. I think it lends an air of sophistication and art to images because it masks any distractions that might stem from loud or conflicting colors, and gives an image a more polished look. Originally posted ages ago. (permalink) Heather Gallay edited this topic ages ago.

Variety“I find the creative process with black and white images is so… artistic. It’s like molding clay – you can shape it into a myriad of shapes. Black and White images can be strong, high contrast and powerful – or they can be so soft, gentle and subtle.” – Belle

Hi All – Now that we’ve recently relaunched Black and White group, we’d like …

I like the way bw puts an emphasis on shape and light. It simplifies a scene to better reveal the essence of it, and perhaps by doing so, it reveals more of what is there, shows what the colors might be distract you from noticing. ages ago (permalink)

In a picture where the form is what counts, mono simplifies things so that the form comes through pure. If the colour is what counts, then colour is better. My 2c. ages ago (permalink)

Part of it is that I just like the look of BW. It fits well with my interest in old cameras. Color is possibly the most emotionally powerful visual aspect. It can easily dominate and/or obscure the other visual aspects that make up an image (form, tone, shape, pattern, texture, etc…). Color is so powerful, that even when everything else works, if the color is bland, harsh, or otherwise wrong for the image, it can break the photo completely. I like BW because I prefer to concentrate on, and emphasize those other visual aspects. For me good BW is easier to achieve than good color working within the limitations of existing light. Particularly with landscape photography there’s just more opportunity to photograph with BW. I wish I had the time to wait for the perfect light on a scene to take a color photograph, but with kids, job, life, etc… I don’t always have that time. If I do manage to be in the right place at the right time you bet I’m happy to take some color photographs. But for color the right light can come and go in a matter of moments. Another thing is that in the past it’s been a lot easier to manipulate BW. I can adjust contrast, burn, dodge, etc… easily in my BW darkroom. In the color darkroom you can’t push the manipulations as far without it getting a little crazy looking. Now days digital gives a lot more control over color processing and printing, and I’m finding since I got my DSLR I’m shooting more color for personal work than I used to. But I still just love the look of a well printed BW photograph. ages ago (permalink)

Welcome new and old members to Black and White, the group for all who share a lo…

B/W is a removal of reality, we live in a color world, so b/w is a unnatural way for us to see. It allows us to see our world in a unique way, and lends a timelessness to the photo. Color can lock an image in time, but b/w images transcend time. B/W is often more concerned w/compostion, framing shapes, contrasts. Color is more often about finding strong colors that grab the eye. ages ago (permalink)

If the big response to the assignment is anything to go by readers of this blog LOVE black and white photography too (I’ve used a few of the images submitted in the assignment on this post to whet your appetite).

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Photography as an art form is something that is constantly shifting, shaped and redefined by the artists who create it. Those looking for symbolism and double meanings in photographs can often find examples, though this symbolism is not always the reason for the technical aspects of a photograph. With black-and-white photography, the quality of having no color can be a part of a photograph for a number of reasons, ranging from the purely technical to the wholly symbolic.

STICKY Voting Now: Shallow Depth of Field (July 2018) 98 replies

Welcome to the Black and White Group Contests. Our contests focus on black and w…

Admin, I’ve submitted 2 photos for inclusion and both have been rejected. May …

why do we find ourselves looking for an image in black and white? does it add some drama to the whole scenario? atmosphere perhaps? or is it just that the world looks better in black and white? I just got a digital camera, and I’ve been using the black and white mode in almost 90% of my shots, to me…it means photography, it reminds me of all the black and white work I did to learn about composition, exposure, developing, printing, it means the whole process, but also I love all the millions of shades of gray trapped between the purest white you can get and the deepest black. Black and white means passion to me, what about you? 9:23AM, 28 September 2005 PDT (permalink)

I have a few friends who are into Black and White photography and I asked them what it was that attracted them to it. Here are a few of their reasons for getting a little obsessed with Black and White:

Photographers may also choose very deliberately to use an aesthetic of black and white, not for technical reasons or to explore form or even to symbolize emotion, but simply to give layered meanings to a particular work. One example of this is the work of Regina de Miguel. While it is perhaps impossible to say with certainty what her pictures symbolize, they do tend to convey a certain sterility that comes with the lack of color. Critics have speculated that the muted, cloudy black-and-white images of mechanisms that she creates are symbolic of the dry instructional manuals that dictate the inner workings of the machines that surround us. Thus, simply draining the color from a photograph can shift add complexities, meanings, and other nuances to photographs that seek to convey some sort of message.

Some of the comments here use the term mono while others use B&W. There is of course a difference, since it is possible to ‘tone’ B&W images with blue for example or sepia. How important do people see the distinction? Id there a reason why (other than personal preference) B&W is acceptable here but not sepia or blue toning? ages ago (permalink)

Subtlety of Tones“I love the subtlety of tones that black and white images can have. In a world that often boasts about how many millions of colors a TV or monitor is able to produce – I love that in ‘Mono’ there is such a variety of what can be achieved in a photo. Black and White sounds so boring – but the fact is that there are so many shades in between – I love the challenge of bringing them all out in an image!” – Jim

Photographers may also choose black and white in order to convey a certain emotion. While this is by no means an exact science, black-and-white photography can give an air of elegance or realism, particularly given the rich history that surrounds the medium. As such, wedding photographers will often use black-and-white photographs to symbolize the love, commitment and happiness of couples and families. Even in film-making, with images that are essentially just photographs in rapid succession, black-and-white images have been used in place of color in order to give special emotion to particular topics and stories. A good example of this is “Schindler’s List,” directed by Steven Spielberg in 1994 and utilizing black and white very deliberately to add to the horror and realism of this story.

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Black and white photography is a process of simplification, of abstraction, a process of boiling down an image or scene to its very essence and casting it in tarnished silver. A photo becomes a study in line and light and shadow, rather than a garish heap of colors. Black and white is a forgiving process too, capable of dropping needless details and distractions by rendering them in grey.If color photography is painting then black and white is sculpture. ages ago (permalink)